Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the questions.
Japanese Girls' Day-also known as the Doll's Festival-is celebrated on March 3 to pray for the health and happiness of young girls in Japan. Hinamatsuri, the name of the celebration in Japan, is marked by families displaying a set of hina dolls in the house and serving special delicacies that are ceremonially beautiful and delicious. Traditionally, parents or grandparents of a newborn girl buy a set of hina dolls for the baby, unless they have special dolls that are inherited from generation to generation. From the end of February to March 3, hina dolls dressed in Japanese ancient costumes are displayed on tiered platforms that are covered with a red carpet. The costumed dolls represent the imperial court of the Heian period (A.D. 794 to 1185] and feature the emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians dressed in traditional garb. The dolls are displayed hierarchically with the emperor and empress at the top, which are set in front of a gilded screen representing the throne. The number of dolls and their size vary from home to home, but five to seven platforms are common. It is customary to put the dolls away as soon as the festival is over-there is a superstition that if the dolls are left out, a family will have trouble marrying off their daughters. After the festival, some people release paper dolls into the rivers praying that this will send away sickness and bad fortune. (Adapted from https://ivwiv. thespruceeats.com/)
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question
English teenagers are to receive compulsory cooking lessons in schools. The idea is to encourage healthy eating to fight the country’s increasing obesity rate. It’s feared that basic cooking and food preparation skills are being lost as parents turn to pre-prepared convenience foods. Cooking was once regarded as an important part of education in England---even if it was mainly aimed at girls. In recent decades cooking has progressively become a minor activity in schools. In many cases the schools themselves have given up cooking meals in kitchens in the schools. But the rising level of obesity has led to a rethink about the food that children are given and the skills they should be taught. “What I want is to teach young people how to do basic, simple recipes like a tomato sauce, a bolognaise, a simple curry, a stir-fry---which they can use now at home and then in their later life”, said Ed Balls, the minister responsible for schools. The new lessons are due to start in September, but some schools without kitchens will be given longer to adapt. There is also likely to be a shortage of teachers with the right skills, since the trend has been to teach food technology rather than practical cooking. Also the compulsory lessons for hands on cooking will only be one hour a week for one term. But the well-known cookery writer, Pru Leith, believes it will be worth it. “If we’d done this thirty years ago we might not have the crisis we’ve got now about obesity and lack of knowledge about food and so on. Every child should know how to cook, not just so that they’ll be healthy, but because it’s a life skill which is a real pleasure”. The renewed interest in cooking is primarily a response to the level of obesity in Britain which is among the highest in Europe, and according to government figures half of all Britons will be obese in 25 years if current trends are not stopped.
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each the numbered blanks.
Although many students are sick and tired of putting on their school uniform day after day, a uniform does have its advantages. For a start, students have no need to worry about what to put on when they get up in the morning. (8)_______, it seems that children wearing the same colors and styles of clothing gain a sense of belonging, something (9)________ improves morale at school and reduces levels of violence. This theory has been supported by a study at a school in Long Beach, California. Staff members there have noticed that since school uniform became compulsory, the number of arguments amongst pupils has dropped by as much as 91%. This suggests that students who are all dressed in the same simple school shirts and trousers are less likely to disagree with one (10)_________. On the other hand, Cozette Buckley, an Education Officer from Chicago, holds a rather different view, based on experience in her schools. In her opinion, school uniforms are not a permanent solution but only a (11)_______ aid to playground problems because they do not address the real source of conflict between children. It seems, therefore, (12)___________ by these conflicting findings, that the school uniform debate isn't closed yet!